Nicknames {Reader's Digest}

On Valentine's Day weekend I went on a little getaway with my boyfriend to Honesdale, Pa, a little mountain town. We rented a little cottage filled with treasure that made my heart sing. All things that were just coincidences. One of those was a small stack of Reader's Digest magazines. My soul is old and I love a good Reader's Digest. While sitting and reading an edition from cover to cover I would the most amazing article! It was all about nicknames! Not only was it about names but it was about one of my "specialties".

The article came from the October 2019 editions and was called "What Happened to Great Nicknames?" by Andy Simmons. I found some great quotes and points and it even got me thinking. I loved it so much I had to pour my thoughts out into a blog post.

In the article they talked about how less and less people have nicknames now a days and why. Their thought is there are 20,000+ more names being used now than there had been in the 1950s. When there were less names it is more likely that a name is used in the same family, classroom, or neighbor multiple times forcing a nickname to be bestowed. Their thoughts are so eye opening and numbers don't lie. I have to add that I am noticing more parents looking for names without nicknames or just forgoing the formal name and using the nickname adding to the possible decline in nickname use. 

A nickname can come from love for a person. How many people do you know with funny, odd, unexpected nicknames? My great grandfather was nicknamed Moon because of his shiny, bald head. Ren is a nickname that came out of no where from a middle school friend partly from the show Even Steves. So if you mom or best friend gave you a funny nickname run with it! It all came from love.

20 Names From the Past 20 Years

Happy New Year! Happy 202. I hope this year is everything you hope it is. I hope you have the best year yet. I had a spark of inspiration to take a look at the #20 names for the past 2 years that are out so far. The results are below and I have to say they are really interesting.

2018- Matthew and Scarlett

2017- Jackson and Aria

2016- Joseph and Chloe

2015- Jayden and Victoria

2014- Joseph and Garce

2013- Joseph and Evelyn

2012- David and Zoey

2011- Christopher and Aubrey

2010- Joseph and Alyssa

2009- Ryan and Ashley

2008- John and Sarah

2007- Nicholas and Grace

2006- Logan and Brianna

2005- Nathan and Brianna

2004- Nathan and Anna

2003- Zachary and Sophia

2002- Brandon and Anna

2001- Alexander and Megan

2000- Alexander and Victoria

1999-Justin and Olivia

What are your favorite sets from the list? Are there any you would use for siblings? I would say my favorite are Ryan and Ashley and Jackson and Aria.  

Namemas: Drummond

Happy last day of Namemas and Christmas Eve! I hope these last 11 days have brought you some interesting reads and some Christmas cheer. We're finishing off the countdown with a boys name with a cool nickname.

Places of Drummond 
There are many places bearing the name Drummond all around the world. One of the main roads in Niagara Falls is Drummond Road. There is a glacier named Drummond Glacier in Antarctica. Drummond is found many in Canada, Northern Ireland, and the United States in towns and villages.

The name isn't just used for locations. There is a castle in Perthshire, Scotland called Drummond Castle. The building has been around since the 14th century. Now a days it is known for its beautiful gardens.

Coal: The naughty Christmas Association 
Drummond Company is a coal mining company with operation in Alabama and Colombia. The company was founded in 1935 in Jasper, Alabama bu Heman Edward Drummond. By 2013 the company was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. This coal company name is a perfect Christmas association!

Famous Drummonds
To my surprise there are quite a few famous Drummonds in the world! The most recent and famous is Ree Drummond, an American food blogger and chef with her own tv show and loads of other products. Although her name is used as a surname.

As a first name there is (John) Drummond Allison, an English WWII poet and Drummond Nicol Brown, an American baseball catcher in the 1910s. Drummond Hoyle Matthews is a British marine geologist and plate tectonics pioneer from the 1950s and 1960s. He was nicknamed Drum as well!

Christmas Association

On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Drummond is my pick for the last day for Namemas. The Drum nickname is what sold me on this name and other than the nickname there is hardly any music instrument connections. While doing research I found the coal company name and thought this is just perfect! I love these little Christmas association surprises! This name is preppy and old fashioned sounding. For all the parents wanting an unique surname first name this is the pick for them!